Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Why--Not--Jazz?

Why are so few people interested in jazz today? One reason is that the best jazz is subtle; it does not bowl you over with special effects or acoustic tricks. It, rather, invites listening. Few truly listen to anything today. Instead, souls are saturated with various sounds engineered to produce certain effects. People consume readily, but listen infrequently. Our ears are buzzing; our hearts are empty; our tastes are uneducated and crass.

But you must listen to jazz, let it penetrate into your sensorium. It is a deep and rich well, but one must decide to drop the bucket in and to pull it out.

3 comments:

While I am a fan of various musical styles Jazz just doesn't appeal to me. It could be due to the dissonant chords or varying tempos. While in school, I took a Music class that gave me a greater appreciation for the genre but not a true love. I'm still hoping to change this. Any suggestions?

Much jazz has neither dissonance or varying tempos. However, it usually doesn't have the simplistic hooks of popular music, so you have to listen more carefully. I usually tell people to start with "Kind of Blue," by Miles Davis. Or you might want a greatest hits of Duke Ellington for the classic big band sound.

It's really comforting to come across an apologetics author who is also inclined to closing his eyes while listening to the blue notes. Your theology and apologetics works are great, by the way, but this is delightful. Thank you, Dr. Groothius!

About Me

Nothing on this blog represents the position of Denver Seminary. I am a Christian, philosopher, teacher, writer, and preacher, who is Professor of Philosophy at Denver Seminary. My most recent of my twelve books is Philosophy in Seven Sentences. My magnum opus is Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith (InterVarsity Press, 2011). I have published ten others, including Truth Decay and On Jesus. I direct the Christian Apologetics and Ethics MA program at Denver Seminary.